After a couple years spent swirling around the Junk Wax drain, Donruss decided to try and prop up their 1993 Leaf baseball cards to something resembling the other premium sets on the market.
Gone were the gray borders, flat finish, and sort of drab photography that had marked the 1991 and 1992 Leaf sets, replaced by no borders, high-quality photos front and back, and ice-storm gloss, also front and back.
Now, there was still plenty of product on the market, but Leaf was definitely digging in to try and regain the status it held when it took the hobby by storm in the summer of 1990. Issued in three series of 220, 220, and 110 cards, the 1993 run even tried to drum up a bit of “scarcity” talk by limiting that third series (Leaf Update) to “just” 6250 cases of 12 boxes each.
So, not scarce at all, but these are pretty good looking cards, depending on your tastes.
And the set is, of course, loaded with the stars of the day.
That combination — premium design and big names — means a select few of the 1993 Leafs sell for decent prices today, especially in top grade.
What follows, then are the most valuable 1993 Leaf baseball cards, based on recent sales of copies in graded PSA 10 condition (as of November 2022). We’ll start at the bottom of the pile (in the room closest to the commons bin) and work our way up from there.
(Note: The following sections contain affiliate links to eBay and Amazon listings for the cards being discussed.)
1993 Leaf Wade Boggs (#285)
This was a weird, fraudulent-looking card back in 1993, and it doesn’t look all that much righter today.
“WADE BOGGS YANKEES”
B.S.
But, of course, it was true – the great Red Sox third baseman signed as a free agent with New York in December of 1992, then continued his march toward 3000 hits and the Hall of Fame in the Bronx.
And then, in Tampa.
Of all the years for a card company to get a jump on showing guys in their new uniforms, Donruss picked one where we got to see one of the most traumatic side-switching wowsers of our generation.
Fans and collectors sort of got over it, and so did Boggs, especially when he won a World Series ring with the 1996 Yankees.
Value: $10-15
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1993 Leaf Paul Molitor (#262)
After Paul Molitor’s body proved to be First Period Black Mark Belleek (it’s Google-worthy, trust me) over the first decade or so of his career, the Milwaukee Brewers decided to try something outrageous with their aging infielder – they moved him to designated hitter.
Now, that doesn’t sound all *that* out there today, when we have the universal DH, or even in 1991, when old sluggers regularly traded in their leather for a dugout rocking chair and stack of candy bars to power up their bats.
But Molitor had spent his career as a super leadoff type, getting on base, smacking doubles and triples, stealing bases, generally wreaking havoc, and, of course, falling apart.
Strolling from the bench to the batter’s box, though, did wonders for Molitor and the Brewers, as The Ignitor turned in a full season in 1991 … and 1992 … and 1993 … and, well it looked like he might go on forever.
And he was going on at a high, HIGH level of production – in his mid-to-late 30s, Molitor was suddenly a near lock to challenge the 200-hit plateau every season, and batting averages in the .330s and .340s were commonplace.
All of a sudden, the dude who couldn’t stay on the field was picking up MVP votes and marching toward 3000 hits. Of course, collectors took notice, and the 1978 Topps rookie card Molitor shared with Alan Trammell began to heat up. So did his chronically off-center 1979 Topps card, and, really, all of his issues.
The Blue Jays took notice, too, signing Molitor as a free agent in December of 1992, just in time for him to help them to a second World Series title the next year.
And also just in time for Leaf to get him in his new uniform for their 1993 set – part of the new world of premium cards included much improved turnaround times.
After three great seasons in Toronto, Molitor finished up with three slightly less great seasons with his hometown Minnesota Twins. Along the way, he did, indeed, surpass 3000 hits and sealed his Cooperstown fate.
Value: $10-20
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1993 Leaf Rickey Henderson (#291)
After winning the American League MVP Award in 1990 and breaking Lou Brock’s career stolen base record in 1991, Rickey Henderson cooled his heels a bit in 1992.
Indeed, that summer marked the first one since 1987, and only the second since 1979, that he did NOT lead the league in stolen bases. His “paltry” 48 steals were good enough for just sixth place, in fact, behind Kenny Lofton, Pat Listach, Brady Anderson, Luis Polonia, and Roberto Alomar.
It didn’t matter, though, because, by then, Henderson was hobby royalty, vying with Nolan Ryan and Cal Ripken for “hottest veteran” honors on any given day, while being pushed from behind by youngsters like Ken Griffey, Jr., and Frank Thomas.
And I don’t know about you, but having “old man” Rickey on base behind me, as he’s shown on his 1993 Leaf card, would have made me nervous as a cat if I were the pitcher.
Or the catcher … or any of the fielders … or the opposing manager … or the clubhouse attendant … or …
Value: $20-30
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1993 Leaf Craig Biggio (#223)
If you like your players gritty and hard-nosed, then it’s tough to beat Craig Biggio and his 1993 Leaf baseball cards.
After winning a Silver Slugger in 1989 and notching his first All-Star berth in 1991, both as a catcher, the young Killer B moved to the other side of the pitcher in 1992.
As a second baseman, Biggio again scored an All-Star selection while playing in all 162 games and leading the National League with 721 plate appearances. His .277 batting average was healthy enough, but he bolstered that by walking 94 times and taking a pitch to his person on seven occasions, a light preview of the hit-by-pitch barrage he’d endure later in his career.
Add in 38 stolen bases and 96 runs, and you had a spark plug with all the ingredients to become a superstar. It would take a few years for that notion to click with collectors, but when it did, we semi-flocked to cards featuring the future denizen of Cooperstown.
And there’s no better representation of Biggio and his grit than this grimy, pants-torn, high-intensity shot of the man at work in the batter’s box.
Value: $20-35
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